The new rules is a part of a Coast Guard reauthorization bill which also include some improvement in the protection of Buzzards Bay from damage caused by oil spills such as the Bouchard spill five years ago that resulted in serious damage to shoreline and wildlife locally. The new safety regulations will definitely give boost to the fishing industry as well as the fishermen to catch more.
Under the rules the boat owners, fishermen and captains took safety classes, upgraded safety equipment and survival suits, and, most important, practiced safety drills that saved lives in subsequent sinking. According to the new rules $3 million will be spent on safety training similar to that which began in New Bedford. It will require the captains to take refresher courses every five years and keep onboard logs of safety drills they conduct.
Besides, the Coast Guard will help oversee research into ways to improve the design of fishing vessels and the safety equipment they use. It is said that the federally permitted fishing vessels will be required to undergo periodic inspections at dockside, and new safety provisions will be phased in on smaller boats that are exempt from many of the rules governing larger vessels.
